Device for winding textile threads

ABSTRACT

A device for winding textile threads in which the clamping spindle, upon which a bobbin cylinder is mounted, extends with its ends beyond the bobbin and loosely engages with annular grooves in these ends the circumferences of two pairs of circular supporting discs, each pair of which is mounted on a horizontal shaft, whereby these two shafts are parallel and spaced from each other and are arranged in the same horizontal plane. A motordriven cylindrical roll is arranged above the bobbin cylinder and frictionally engages the same and later the bobbin formed by the thread which is conducted from above by a horizontally reciprocating thread guide-along a portion of the circumference of the cylindrical roll-and then onto said bobbin cylinder.

United States Patent Inventor Heinrich Enneking Karlsruhe-Waldstadt, Germany Appl. No. 795,525 Filed Jan. 31,1969 Patented Apr. 20, 1971 Assignee Industrie-Wcrke Karlsruhe Aktiengesellschaft Karlsruhe, Germany Priority Feb. 22, 1968 Germany P 17 10 082.2

DEVICE FOR WINDING TEXTILE THREADS 7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 242/18, 242/66 Int. Cl B65h 54/42 Field of Search 242/ l 8, l8

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,092,339 6/1963 Hill, Jr; et al. 242/18(DD) FOREIGN PATENTS 721,951 1 1955 Great Britain 242/18(DD) 519,488 3/1955 Italy 242/18(DD) Primary Examiner-Stanley N. Gilreath Att0rneySinger, Stern and Carlberg ABSTRACT: A device for winding textile threads in which the clamping spindle, upon which a bobbin cylinder is mounted,

extends with its ends beyond the bobbin and loosely engages with annular grooves in these ends the circumferences of two pairs of circular supporting discs, each pair of which is mounted on a horizontal shaft, whereby these two shafts are parallel and spaced from each other and are arranged in the same horizontal plane. A motor-driven cylindrical roll is arranged above the bobbin cylinder and frictionally engages the same and later the bobbin formed by the thread which is conducted from above by a horizontally reciprocating thread guidealong a portion of the circumference of the cylindrical rolland then onto said bobbin cylinder.

The invention relates to a device for winding textile threads, particularly textile threads of synthetic material, for producing wound bobbins. The device is provided with a motor-driven drive means for the bobbin and also with a traversing mechanism disposed above the bobbin and equipped with a reciprocating thread guide for conducting the thread to the bobbin.

it has already been proposed to provide devices in which a bobbin is driven by a stationarily mounted drive roll. In these known devices the bobbin is exchangeably mounted on a bobbin holder one end of which is supported in a sliding bearing, roller bearing, or an air bearing. The bobbin holder itself is movably mounted by means of a pivoted lever or a straight guide in such a manner that the axis of the bobbin moves away from the drive roll axis when the bobbin diameter increases, whereby the pressure between the drive roll and the circumference of the bobbin during the winding operation remains substantially constant or, depending upon the requirements, may also be variable.

The wound bobbins produced with these known devices have compared with their longitudinal dimension a rather great diameter in order to obtain at the realizable speed of rotation of the bobbin great winding speeds. in addition, the clamping spindles for the bobbin holder are supported at one end, and for reasons of having the required rigidity have to have correspondingly large dimensions. For this reason the designer is limited in his choice of dimensions for the bobbins and the necessary bearings and the required speed of rotation to specific attainable thread winding speeds.

On account of economic reasons the development in the textile winding technique is such that the winding speeds are continuously increased. The industry which subsequently employs the bobbins demands, however, relatively small bobbin diameters. These two requirements can be fulfilled in the devices of the prior art only then when the clamping spindles for the bobbin holders are supported on both ends in rather complicated bearing structures and this has the result that substantial difficult operation techniques have to be followed which can hardly be tolerated in the present continuous development of chemical fiber production in view of the required exchange of each of the bobbins.

it is the object of the present invention to provide a device for winding textile threads for producing wound bobbins which even when the diameters of the bobbins are relatively small is able to produce relatively long bobbins and permit the employment of the highest possible winding speeds. Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to make the exchangeability of fully wound bobbins for empty bobbins extremely simple and quick.

Starting with a device which provides a motor'driven drive mechanism for the bobbins and a traversing device having a reciprocating thread guide arranged at a distance from the bobbin the aforesaid object of the invention provides that the drive mechanism consists of three rolls, the axes of which form the corners of a triangle, whereby the bobbin is loosely inserted between these rolls to be engaged by the running faces of the rolls which face each other. At least one of these rolls is adjustable approximately in the direction of the connecting lines between two points of the triangle so that the axis of rotation of the bobbin is transversely movable.

According to a further feature of the invention the arrangement can be made with advantage in such a manner that the axes of two of the mentioned rolls are disposed substantially in a horizontal plane and in spaced parallel relation, while the third roll is mounted above this horizontal plane and is slidably adjustable in vertical direction and symmetrically to the two rolls arranged in said horizontal plane. Preferably, the three rolls are rotatably supported at only one of their ends, for instance, in two horizontallyspaced stationary bearings arranged in a single stationary carrier plate, while the third roll is rotatably supported with one of its ends in a bearing arranged in a vertically slidable carriage.

According to another feature of the invention the diameter of these three rolls is relatively large compared with the diameter of the bobbin cylinder upon which the thread is wound to form the bobbin. Furthermore, the diameter of the two rolls whose axes are arranged in a horizontal plane are of the same size while the diameter of the third roll arranged above these two rolls may be different from the diameter of the two lower rolls.

According to a further advantageous feature of the invention the two rolls arranged in the horizontal plane may consist each of two axially-spaced end discs which are fixedly connected with each other by a shaft, whereby the end discs are arranged at an axial distance from each other which is greater than the length of the bobbin. The bobbin comprises a bobbin cylinder which is removably mounted on a clamping spindle which is longer than the bobbin whereby the end portions of the clamping spindle are in engagement with the circumferences of the two mentioned end discs, in fact, two end discs engage each end of the clamping spindle. Preferably, the end portions of the clamping spindle are provided with annular bearing faces which may, for instance, consist of annular grooves having a width of such a dimension that they are able to receive the width of the end disc of the abovementioned rolls. This arrangement of the annular grooves on the clamping spindle has the advantage that an axial displacement of the bobbin is prevented when the annular grooves are engaged by the end discs of the two lower rolls.

Still another feature of the invention is that the vertically slidably mounted roll is provided with an extensive cylindrical surface which during the winding operation is in pressure engagement with the circumference of the bobbin which is formed by the thread on the bobbin cylinder, whereby the pressure of the cylindrical surface of the roll may be constant or variable. This vertically slidably supported roll may comprise a well-known control roll in which case at least one of the rolls arranged in said horizontal plane may be motordriven. The vertically slidably mounted roll may also be constructed as a motor-driven drive roll in which case preferably the two rolls arranged below this drive roll in a horizontal plane are constructed as freely rotatable supporting rolls.

The industry which subsequently employs the wound bobbin requires that when the exterior diameter of the empty bobbin sleeve has a diameter of about 45 mm. and has a bobbin length of about 300 mm. that the winding speed will be about 4,000 meters per minute, or even more. The bobbin cylinder, in order to comply with this request, has to make at the start of the winding operation about 30,000 rpm. It should be obvious that such a high number of revolutions requires a substantial, safe and reliable construction of the bearings for the rolls. In accordance with the present invention the fulfillment of this requirement, namely, the attainment of such high bobbin speeds, does not cause any difficulties. The selection of the diameters of the three rolls whose axes form the comers of a triangle can be selected at random. For instance, at 6,000 r.p.m. no particular construction of the bearing for the rolls is required.

A satisfactory exchangeability of the bobbins is assured in accordance with the present invention by the vertically slidable mounting of the upper roll. In this connection it is immaterial whether this upper roll operates as a control roll or as a drive roll. This roll engages the bobbin along a straight line on its cylindrical surface and may move upwardly when the bobbin diameter increases during the winding operation. The pressure between the upper roll and the surface of the bobbin may be kept constant in a well-known manner, or may also be varied. For instance, the own weight of the upper roll including that of the carriage and the bearing thereon for this roll may be compensated by counterweights.

Another advantageous feature of the invention may be obtained when the traversing mechanism with the thread guide thereon is rigidly connected with the upper roll when the latter is constructed as a drive roll or control roll. This is accomplished by attaching the traversing mechanism on the vertically movable carriage which also carries the mentioned roll, whereby the thread guide is caused to move parallel to the axis of this upper roller back and forth and thereby guides the thread over that portion of the roll which moves toward the bobbin. Accordingly, the thread guide which usually guides the thread vertically from above directly onto the bobbin has the effect that the thread first comes into engagement with one side of this roll, namely, with about one fourth of its circumference and only then it reaches the bobbin which rests upon the two lower rolls. In this manner, independently of the diameter of the bobbin, there will always be the same length of thread between the thread guide and the point on which the thread comes into engagement with the upper roll.

In the following will be described by way of example one embodiment of the device of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawing.

IN THE DRAWlNG FIG. 1 illustrates diagrammatically an end view of the bobbin winding device of the invention, and

FIG. 2 illustrates diagrammatically a sectional view along the line ll-ll of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawing, the device of the invention is provided with two supporting rolls and 11, the axes of rotation of which are arranged in spaced parallel relation and in one horizontal plane and stationary in a fixed vertically disposed carrier plate 12. The supporting rolls 10 and 11 are provided with shafts l3 and 14, one end of which is mounted rotatable in bearings which extend from the carrier plate 12. On each of these shafts 13 and 14 are arranged at the end portions thereof the end disc 15, 16 having the same diameter. These end discs 15, 16 have a relatively small thickness. The end discs 15, 16 of each roll are arranged at an axial distance from each other which is somewhat greater than the length of the bobbin cylinder. The supporting rolls are freely rotatable and are not provided or connected with any separate drive mechanism. As shown in H6. 1 the end discs 15, 16, are of such a diameter and are so mounted with their axes of rotation that the circumferences of these end discs are spaced from each other. However, the circumferences of these discs 15, 16 are in engagement with a body of rotation 19 which is loosely inserted from above in the space between the rolls 10 and 11.

The bobbin 18 comprises a relatively long bobbin cylinder 20 which is mounted for winding a bobbin thereon on the body of rotation 19 forming a clamping spindle. Both ends of the clamping spindle 19 project beyond the bobbin and the bobbin cylinder 20 and also beyond the end disc 15, 16 of the supporting rolls 10 and 11, as shown in FIG. 2. The clamping spindle 19 is provided at its end portions at a distance which is equal to the axial distance of the end discs 15, 16 with annular grooves 21 having approximately the same width as the thickness of the end discs 15, 16. In the winding position the clamping spindle 19 rests with each of its ends upon the circumference of the two adjacent end discs 15, and l6, 16 of the two supporting rolls l0 and 11, whereby the circumference of these end discs engage the mentioned annular grooves 21 in the clamping spindle 19. In this operative position the bobbin cylinder is arranged between the axially-spaced end disc of the supporting rolls, so that the bobbin cylinder 20 may receive the thread to be wound when a roll 25 is rotated and guides the thread onto the bobbin cylinder 20 which is rotated when engaged by the circumference of the roll 25. As soon as the bobbin cylinder 20 has one layer of thread thereon the roll 25 will be in engagement with the bobbin formed on the bobbin cylinder.

The roll 25 is motor-driven and disposed above the two rolls l0 and 11. The roll 25 rotates about an axis fonning the upper comer of a triangle the lower comers of which are formed by the axes of rotations of the two rolls 10 and 11. The drive roll 25 is mounted on one end of a drive shaft 26 which is rotatably mounted in a carriage 27. The carriage 27 has mounted thereon an electric motor 28 which drives the shaft 26 and therewith the drive roll 25. The carriage 27 is slidably mounted in vertical guides 29 and 30 adjacent the vertical carrier plate 12. The adjustability of the carriage 27 and therewith the drive roll 25 is indicated in FIG. 2 by the double arrow 31.

The carriage 27 which forms a carrier for the drive roll 25 has also mounted thereon a traversing mechanism 32 which moves with the carriage 27 up and down. This traversing mechanism 32 is provided with a thread guide 33 which in conventional manner is moved back and forth parallel to the axis of rotation of the drive roll 25. The thread guide 33 is arranged at a fixed distance from the cylindrical surface of the drive roll 25 and guides the thread 34 which is to be wound upon the bobbin.

The weight of the upwardly and downwardly movable drive roll arrangement including that of the traversing mechanism is balanced in a manner not particularly illustrated in the drawing, for instance by an arrangement of counterweights, so that there will be always a sufficient pressure exerted by the drive roll on the circumference of the bobbin which is wound on the bobbin cylinder. This pressure of the drive roll against the bobbin may be kept constant during the winding operation independent of the increasing diameter of the bobbin or may be varied if desired.

In order to start the operation of the device of the invention the drive roll 25 is first moved upwardly. Thereupon a bobbin cylinder mounted on a clamping spindle 19 is inserted from above into the device in such a manner that the annular bearing surfaces 21 engage the circumferences of the supporting rolls 10 and 11. In this manner the axial position of the bobbin is determined and the bobbin is also freely rotatable. Thereupon the drive roll arrangement is moved downwardly until the drive roll engages the circumference of the bobbin cylinder 20 with the desired pressure so that upon operation of the motor 28 the roll 25 is rotated and comes into frictional engagement with the circumference of bobbin cylinder 20. Now the thread 34 to be wound into the form of a bobbin is threaded from above into the thread guide 33 and is guided over a part of the circumference of the drive roll 25 into engagement with the bobbin cylinder 20 whereupon, in known manner, the thread is wound upon the bobbin cylinder 20 to form a bobbin with ever increasing diameter. Of course, as soon as the first layer of thread is formed on the bobbin cylinder 20 the drive roll 25 comes and remains in frictional pressure engagement with the bobbin formed on the bobbin cylinder.

It should be noted that the thread to be wound engages the circumference of the drive roll 25 over a distance which comprises about one-fourth of its circumference before the thread reaches the bobbin cylinder 20 to form a wound bobbin thereon. After the bobbin has reached the desired winding diameter the drive roll arrangement is moved upwardly, the wound bobbin is removed from its operative winding position and is withdrawn from the clamping spindle, whereupon, in the manner already described in the foregoing, an empty bobbin cylinder 20 is slidably mounted onto the clamping spindle l9 and then is inserted in operative position into the winding device. Now, another winding operation commences after the drive roll arrangement has again been lowered.

lclaim:

1. ln a filament winding device, a frame, first and second rollers rotatably supported by said frame in side by side parallel relationship, a radially projecting circular end flange at each end of each of said first and second rollers, a third roller of cylindrical shape rotatably supported by said frame with the axis of rotation of said third roller parallel with the axes of rotation of said first and second rollers and in such a position that a plane containing the axis of said third roller intersects a plane containing the axes of said first and second rollers substantially midway between said first and second rollers, a bobbin for receiving the filament, centrally disposed axle means projecting from each end of said bobbin and each provided with a circumferential groove of a width substantially equal to the thickness of one of said circular end flanges on said first and second rollers whereby said bobbin may be supported on said first and second rollers with said flanges in engagement with said grooves, interengaging guide means on said frame and said third roller constraining said third roller to slidable movement toward and from said plane containing the axes of said first and second rollers whereby said third roller is movable toward and from said bobbin supported on said flanges, drive means for rotating one of said first, second and third rollers and thereby rotating the other two rollers and said bobbin by frictional interengagement, and filament guide means mounted for reciprocatory movement longitudinally of said bobbin.

2 A device according to claim 11, in which said first, second and third rollers are horizontally disposed and said interengaging guide means for the third roller are adapted for vertical movement of said third roller.

3. A device according to claim 1, in which said first, second and third rollers are rotatably supported at one end only.

4. A device according to claim 1, in which said third roller and the end flanges of said first and second rollers have diameters which are substantially greater than that of said bobbin.

5. A device according to claim l, in which said projecting axle means form parts of a bobbin pin on which a cylindrical bobbin sleeve is removably mounted.

b. A device according to claim 5, in which said third roller is longer than said cylindrical bobbin sleeve and extends beyond the ends of said bobbin sleeve at both ends thereof.

7. A device according to claim 1, in which said drive means is operatively connected with said third roller. 

1. In a filament winding device, a frame, first and second rollers rotatably supported by said frame in side by side parallel relationship, a radially projecting circular end flange at each end of each of said first and second rollers, a third roller of cylindrical shape rotatably supported by said frame with the axis of rotation of said third roller parallel with the axes of rotation of said first and second rollers and in such a position that a plane containing the axis of said third roller intersects a plane containing the axes of said first and second rollers substantially midway between said first and second rollers, a bobbin for receiving the filament, centrally disposed axle means projecting from each end of said bobbin and each provided with a circumferential groove of a width substantially equal to the thickness of one of said circular end flanges on said first and second rollers whereby said bobbin may be supported on said first and second rollers with said flanges in engagement with said grooves, interengaging guide means on said frame and said third roller constraining said third roller to slidable movement toward and from said plane containing the axes of said first and second rollers whereby said third roller is movable toward and from said bobbin supported on said flanges, drive means for rotating one of said first, second and third rollers and thereby rotating the other two rollers and said bobbin by frictional interengagement, and filament guide means mounted for reciprocatory movement longitudinally of said bobbin.
 2. A device according to claim 1, in which said first, second and third rollers are horizontally disposed and said interengaging guide means for the third roller are adapted for vertical movement of said third roller.
 3. A device according to claim 1, in which said first, second and third rollers are rotatably supported at one end only.
 4. A device according to claim 1, in which said third roller and the end flanges of said first and second rollers have diameters which are substantially greater than that of said bobbin.
 5. A device according to claim 1, in which said projecting axle means form parts of a bobbin pin on which a cylindrical bobbin sleeve is removably mounted.
 6. A device according to claim 5, in which said third roller is longer than said cylindrical bobbin sleeve and extends beyond the ends of said bobbin sleeve at both ends thereof.
 7. A device according to claim 1, in which said drive means is operatively connected with said third roller. 